Chris Christie’s announcement today that he’s not running for president should, at least in theory, refocus attention on the existing field. Hey, is Paul Ryan going to reconsider? What’s Sarah Palin going to do?

Christie, not known for his modesty, said during his news conference that he thinks the efforts to draft him had nothing to do with dissatisfaction with the GOP field. “I’d like to think it says something about me,” he said, and the accomplishments he’s made in New Jersey.

The quickly approaching deadlines to qualify for early state contests mean it’s very unlikely that we’ll see serious new additions to the field. Palin now says she’s going to decide in November — after the deadline to get on the ballot in Florida.

It wasn’t all about Christie. Some of the public pining for some slam-dunk GOP candidate is driven by big donors with big egos. They want to play kingmaker and have their guy or gal be the next hot commodity. Part of it is driven by the media, which magnifies every half-baked rumor and musing by anyone who ever daydreamed about occupying the Oval Office. And part of it is a lack of consensus on the appropriate direction of the GOP.

Maybe it’s been a healthy process up to now. A robust and competitive primary process makes candidates stronger. It’s too early to say, as many pundits have, that it’s already a two-man race based on early polls and fundraising.

But it will start, if it hasn’t happened already, to damage the entire field if voters can’t consider candidates without the tantalizing hint of something better waiting in the wings. Eventually, voters have to realize there’s no perfect candidate, and start deciding whose flaws are forgivable.

GOP consultant Mark McKinnon, quoted in the Washington Post, said it better than anyone I’ve seen so far: “Dream dating is over. It’s time to love the one you’re with.”